Egg white composition



Patented May 5, 1953 WHITE COMPOSITION Herbert. J. Kotlia'Bronx, N. Y., assignor toStandard Brands Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a.

corporation of ,llluaiawarev .No'Drawing. Application February 8, 1950, Serial No. 143,143

iifiiaims. 1

This invention relates to. a process for the, treatment, of, egg substance, particularly egg White, to improve its whipping properties, and to e resulting product.

It has been found that egg whites can be whipped to a good foam in a shorter time if they are mixed with a small amount of an edible unsul ionated ester of an al phatic alcohol and an aliphaticpolybasic acid, said ester being appreciably soluble in water, that is, soluble to the extent of at least. 0.01%. Preferably, both the alcohol and acid, components are also appreciably soluble in water. The acid component may be fully or only partially esterified and the ester may he a mixed ester, i-. e., one containing radicals derived from two or more different alcohols. Suitable esters are, for example, the methyl and ethyl esters of tartaric, malic, malonic, citricv and succinic acids.

The concentration of the ester may be varied considerably and depends to some extent upon its constitution. In the case of triethyl citrate, for instance, the amount used is preferably between 0.01% and. 0.05% by weight of the egg White. It does not appear to be any more efiective at concentrations higher than 0.05%, while its efiectiveness diminishes at concentrations below 0.01%.

In addition to shortening the Whipping period the esters increase the overheating tolerance of egg whites. When regular untreated egg Whites are beaten too long they produce smaller cake volume than when they receive the correct or normal amount of beating. When the esters of this invention are added the egg whites will main- Densities (gm/cc.)

Whipping Time (min) T th I no y Control Citrate In this test on a laboratory scale with 200gram batches the whites containing triethyl citrate whipped to the same density (0.095) as the control, in about one-fiIththe time. After Whipp for one minute the specific foam volume of the citrate sample was 10.7 cc. per gram, while that of the control was '7 .1 cc. per gram.

The following table shows the effectiveness of 0.025% triethyl citrate in shortening whipping time and maintaining angel food cake volume in regular bakery tests using 1,000 gram batches. In this table normal beat signifies a foam density of 0.11%9 gram per cc. and overheat signifies a foam density of 0.0820 gram per cc.

Beating Cake Sample Type of Beat Ti 'ne Volume (Min.) (1111.)

I ormal. 5 i 2. 855 Control {O verbeat 1%; 2, 33 i ormal 2 3 'llletnyl Cmaie- --i{overbeac. 7% 2,

Percent Over- Normal beating Cajke Volume Beating Sample Vol ime Increase m (ml over Tl-me (M1n.) G 01 (M1n.)

10 2, 545 6% Diethyl-d-Tartrate 9 2, 765 8. 6 5% Dicthyl-Mal'ite 8% 2, 815 10. 6 4 Diethyl-Malouate. 8 2, 830 ll. 2 2% 'Iriothyl- Citrate 6 /1 2, 820 10. 8 2% Diethyl-Succinate 5% 2, 890 ll. 9 2% It is evident that in all cases the esters shortened the whipping time and the overbeaten samples gave improved cake volume as compared to the control. Comparable results are obtained with the corresponding methyl esters, for instance, trimethyl citrate, the partial esters of the mentioned acids such as monoethyl citrate and diethyl citrate and the mixed methyl-ethyl esters.

It has been found further that the overheating tolerance of egg whites containing esters may be increased by the addition of an edible buffer salt capable of maintaining the pH of the egg whites at approximately 8.0. An example of such a buffer salt is mono-sodium acid phosphate. Egg whites having the normal pH of about 9 do not give as stable or stifi a foam as when the pH is reduced to around 8. When both an ester and a buffer salt are added full overheating tolerance is obtained, that is, extra Whipping does not result in a decrease in the cake volume.

The effect of the addition of 0.15% monosodium acid phosphate along with 0.025% triethyl citrate is shown in the following table:

It will be observed that the phosphate-citrate sample, although in an overbeaten condition, gave a higher cake volume than the control which was beaten to a normal extent.

Liquid egg whites having incorporated therewith the esters disclosed herein may be dried in the manner commonly practiced in the art. When the dried product is reconstituted with water substantially the same improvement in whipping properties is obtained as with undried egg whites. In the appended claims the term egg white is used to include both liquid and dry egg white.

I claim:

1. An egg white composition havin improved whipping properties containing an edible unsulfonated appreciably water-soluble ester of an aliphatic alcohol having less than three carbon atoms and an aliphatic polybasic acid of the group consisting of tartaric, malic, malonic, citric and succinic acids.

2. A composition as claimed in claim 1 containing a buffer salt and having a pH of about 8.

3. An egg white composition having improved whipping properties containing an edible unsulfonated appreciably water-soluble ethyl ester of an aliphatic polybasic acid of the group consisting of tartaric, malic, malonic, citric and succinic acids.

4. An egg white composition having improved whipping properties containing an edible unsulfonated appreciably water-soluble methyl ester of an aliphatic polybasic acid of the group consisting of tartaric, malic, malonic, citric and succinic acids.

5. A composition as claimed in claim 3 containing a buffer salt and having a pH of about 8.

6. A composition as claimed in claim 4 containing a buffer salt and having a pH of about 8.

'7. A composition as claimed in claim 3 wherein the ester is triethyl citrate.

8. A composition as claimed in claim '7 wherein the bufier salt is monosodium acid phosphate.

HERBERT J. KOTHE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,431,156 Geere et a1 Oct. 10, 1922 2,093,786 Swarthout Sept. 21, 1937 2,166,070 Littlefield July 11, 1939 2,183,516 Mink Dec. 12, 1939 2,485,638 Gooding et a1 Oct. 25, 1949 

1. AN EGG WHITE COMPOSITION HAVING IMPROVED WHIPPING PROPERTIES CONTAINING AN EDIBLE UNSULFONATED APPRECIABLY WATER-SOLUBLE ESTER OF AN ALIPHATIC ALCOHOL HAVING LESS THAN THREE CARBON ATOMS AND AN ALIPHATIC POLYBASIC ACID OF THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TARTARIC, MALIC, MALONIC, CITRIC AND SUCCINIC ACIDS. 